Ice Age 5: The Aftermath (REWRITTEN)
by megan.daisy.9
Summary: A young girl with autism returns home from school to discover that her mother has gone missing. Even worse, the Slenderman is now stalking her. Joined by the Sub Zero Heroes and a deceased young woman, the girl sets out to save her mother and bring down the entity. Rated T for strong language, blood and gore. Plz R&R!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Lauren's POV

_"What are you doing?!"_

_"Kate, please..."_

_"I...I can't..."_

_"You know this is the only way-"_

_"I CAN'T! ... I can't..."_

_"Kate..."_

_"I...I'm so sorry... Forgive me..."_

_"I'M SO SORRY!"_

_(The rest of the tape has the man screaming until he dies. The woman starts laughing hysterically until the tape is suddenly cut off.)_

After it ended, I stood there shocked and surprised. After all the hell I've been through, my day had gotten even worse.

Just then, I heard a series of loud knocks and I spun round to find that the fire had been blown out.

_"Oh no..."_

The huge door at the end of the hallway swung open and a skeleton figure came sprinting towards me.

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_ I screamed in fright before everything turned to darkness.

* * *

It was pitch black in the room I woke up in..

I remember what happened before..

Being stalked by this strange man, collecting eight pages, powering six generators and escaping the fiery forests..

Only to find myself back in the huge burnt house I went into a few days ago.

I literally went through hell.. And as soon as this was over I wanted to be free, continue on with my life and forget everything that happened.

My friend, Kate, went missing and I remember her chasing me though the mines..

Having been turned into a proxy..

I was on my way to the Radio Tower to find some clues, regarding her disappearance..

But I found nothing..

Maybe I could find something now..

The flickering light was definitely not helping whilst I looked around.

I could hear growls coming from the nearby staircase where the skeleton person was.

_"Shut up skeleton. You're getting on my nerves." _I muttered under my breath.

During my search, I did find some pieces of information finally..

"_Yes!" _I cheered. _"I'm coming Kate, just hang on.."_

Just then, the skeleton figure's growls were replaced by a woman crying.

I instantly recognised the voice.

"_Kate! Kate, where are you?" _I asked, loudly.

I went to the staircase again to see that the figure had disappeared.

"_Thank f*cking Christ.." _I said, as I ran up.

Kate's sobs were gradually becoming louder as I got closer to her location.

"_Kate!" _I shouted. _"It's me, Lauren!"_

Eventually after minutes of frantically looking around, I found my friend.

Sitting in a corner...

I felt so bad for her...

At least, she's not the proxy anymore...

I took slow steps towards her and my vision became blurry.

"_Kate..." _I whispered.

She looked up and her eyes locked onto mine..

And all of a sudden, she transformed..

Into the proxy..

"_OH MY GOD!" _I screamed as the proxy tackled me to the ground.

I tried so hard to fight her off but she overpowered me in a flash.

The last thing I saw was my assailant's triumphant face before she delivered the blow which would end my life.

After that, all I saw was darkness.

I was dead.

Being slowly dragged away to someplace unknown..

* * *

**Ice Age 5: The Aftermath**

* * *

_Hey Guys,_

_Hope y'all been good.._

_I decided to do a re-write of this because I felt like I could of done a lot better with the first try.._

_Anyways this time, the fanfic is based on the steam verison of 'Slender: The Arrival' not the orginial verison.._

_Reason being is becuase I wanted to do something different for a change, so there ya go..._

_Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think.._

_Other than that, hope your day's going good!_

_Megan Xx_

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the Ice Age movies and the characters. _****_I only own this fanfic, the upcoming sequel and the OC characters Megan and Lauren._**


	2. Chapter 1: A Normal Teenage Girl

**Chapter 1: A Normal Teenage Girl**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_Three days later..._

"This just in, the body of a 20-year old woman was found outside a burnt house in Oak Side Park. Police are currently investigating the scene and no one knows who committed the murder. The deceased woman was later identified as a Miss Lauren Abel. Several deaths have occurred since then and the rate has been increasing. The Police say that they will not rest until they find the murderer and bring him in. More news to follow." The news woman declared on the TV.

I just sat there, horrified and shocked at what happened.

"What the hell..." I whispered.

I leant back in my chair and started to think things over.

"Seriously, that guy has to stop whatever he's doing..." I muttered.

My eyes slowly trailed around my bedroom, all around me was _Ice Age _pictures, posters and merchandise.

A small smile lit up on my face as I gazed fondly at my things.

I've been a fan of the Ice Age movies ever since I was three years old. And, that is a long time..

Some of my friends like the movie franchise as much as I do although, others not so much..

I have a soft spot for every single one of the herd and over the years, I grew strongly attached to them..

The merchandise I have is a lot. I brought the games, a school backpack, pretty much everything I saw on the internet..

I eventually got up from my chair and went to my window.

The sun was hovering over the houses and it's rays of light shone through the roofs. It actually looked quite nice.

"I better get myself ready for school.." I told myself as I turned away from the window.

I frantically changed out of my pyjamas and put on a blue long sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans and white trainers.

"Alright, that's me set.." I said to myself.

Just then, I heard my mum calling for me.

"Megan, time to go!"

I grabbed my Ice Age backpack, slipped my arms through the straps and exited the room.

"I'm coming!" I shouted, determined to get though school as quickly as I could.


	3. Chapter 2: School Troubles

**Chapter 2: School Troubles**

Megan(Me)'s POV

Both me and my mum were waiting outside for the cab to pick us up and to drop me off at school. To be honest, I didn't really want to go there today.

I just wanted to turn around and head back inside to be in my _Ice Age_ room but I knew that would have been a bad idea.

"Hey mum, did you hear the news? A 20-year old woman was found dead three days ago.." I said.

"Ugh..." she sighed. "Yeah, I did. The rate's been increasing pretty fast since her corpse was found."

"Well, some people say it's this thing, entity whatever it is but I don't know much about it.." I repiled.

"I think your friends might be talking about it because you know what they're like.." My mum said, smiling.

I laughed. "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to prepare myself."

"You probabaly will.." She then turned and saw the cab coming up the road. "Oh, sweetheart the taxi's here.."

"Okay.." I said, following my mum inside.

* * *

_(On the way there)_

I sat in the backseat like I always do and my mum was in the front chatting to the driver.

"Did you hear the news?" The taxi driver asked.

"Yep, I did. People seem to be going on and on and on about it. Kinda wierd eh?" My mum answered.

"Yeah, it is wierd. Everyone around here think it's an entity murdering them. But there's no such things as entities.. Well, that's what I think.." The driver repiled.

Throughout the whole conversation, I remained quiet..

Thinking about the Herd..

Dreaming about meeting them..

Even though they were movie characters..

"I wish you guys were real.." I whispered to myself, as we drove through the village.

* * *

Eventually, we got to the denstination and I started to get out of the cab, only to be stopped.

"Hey megs, hope you have a good day and please be careful..." My mum said.

"I will do, don't worry... I can pretty much handle myself out there.." I repiled, putting on a brave face.

She smiled. "I know you can. See you later Megan. Love you.."

"Love you too.." I said, before closing the door.

My mum waved as the cab disappeared behind the hedges as I watched and waved back.

As soon as it went out of my sight, I slowly turned and faced the front entrance to my school.

"Alright, I'm going in." I bravely told myself as I walked inside.

One of my duties at school is to look after my class and make sure that they don't cause any trouble. My other duty is to bring the register box to and from reception every time we register.

I walked up to the shelf where all the boxes for the classes sat. I searched for my one. "Where is it... Where is it..."

Eventually, I found it. "A-ha!"

The box had _'10 Keller' _written on it and I opened it up.

"Anything useful in here?" I asked quietly, as I looked.

Turns out, there were just a bunch of papers and letters. Nothing really that useful in there.

"Alright then." I said, cheerfully as I started to make my way out and over to the science block. "Let's get this over with.."


	4. Chapter 3: Teen Confrontation

**Chapter 3: Teen Confrontation **

Megan(Me)'s POV

So far, today was going okay..

The first two lessons went pretty quickly and we were allowed several hours of freedom before 10:45am..

I decided to spend a few peaceful minutes in the book centre, thinking about the Herd..

I couldn't wait for school to finish even though it was break time now, I wanted the day to be over and done with..

"Aw c'mon... When is it going to be 3:30pm?" I asked myself, impatiently.

As I turned to pack my stuff, I groaned. "Oh No.."

A group of younger girls came in and looked around. Every damn school has them. The Fancy Girl group. That group would never hesitate to tease and bully someone.

Turns out, I was next on their list.

"Oh, look who it is..." The leader said. She and her group always behaved posh whenever I walked past them.

_"Great. How am I going to get past that group of...poshies?" _my voice echoed in my head.

"It's the kid who likes those silly creatures from that movie." She continued whilst her group laughed.

I tried so hard not to lash out at them for criticising the Herd. Violence wouldn't get me anywhere.

"If you girls ever criticise the Herd again, you'll be sorry.." I said, emotionless.

"Wow. you've grown tough." The leader smirked when she saw me flinch. "But we both know what you're really like.."

"Defenseless, weak. Always needing someone to help you.." The group mocked, whilst laughing.

If I was allowed to swear, I would of yelled _"F you all!" _and run out. But I didn't move.

"What's the matter hon? Trying to think of an escape plan?!" The leader teased.

"No." I answered with the emotionless tone. "I'm trying to be strong."

"And may I ask, what for?" She asked.

I didn't say anything. Just stood there, emotionless..

Staring them in the eye..

"Well?!" The leader asked again, this time with annoyance.

I had a brilliant plan coming up in my mind.

"You girls should see if there are any bombs or firearms in your bags.. Be careful, the bombs are going to explode any second." I said.

The group then suprisenly started screaming and frantically looking in their bags. Meanwhile, I grabbed my backpack, swung it over my shoulder and bolted for the door.

As soon as I made it, I slammed the door behind me and gasped for breath. I could hear the voices of the girls, enraged that I stood up to them.

"We've been tricked!"

"Where is that kid?!

"She's f*cking gone!"

"I WILL FIND YOU!"

A small smile appeared on my face. "Well, I guess that's a good way to get revenge.."

I then started making my way up the stairs for my next lesson..

Not knowing that someone..

Someone very mysterious and frightening..

Was watching me..


	5. Chapter 4: Lauren Abel

**Chapter 4: Lauren Abel**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_3.30pm_

The next few lessons however, didn't go well as I hoped it would.

Strangely, I've been starting to feel really sick and have been getting severe nose bleeds.

I had no idea why I've been getting these symptoms. But whatever it was that caused this to happen, I didn't like it.

I came out of the toilets, having threw up a fourth time and quickly washed my hands.

As soon as that was done, I dried them and turned to look in the mirror for a short while.

My nose was still bleeding, which greatly annoyed me. _"When will this stop?!"_

Just then, I saw someone else in the mirror.

A tall, thin man wearing a black suit. He had very pale skin and strangely, no eyes, no mouth, no nose, nothing. Just a blank featureless face.

I jumped and turned round, only to see that the man had disappeared.

_"I'm probably just seeing things.." _I thought, shrugging.

I grabbed my Ice Age backpack and slipped my arms through the straps.

However, I wasn't prepared for what was going to happen next.

As soon as I opened the door to the toilets, I screamed and backed away.

A 20-year old woman was standing in front of me, blocking my exit. She had cuts, scars and bruises all over her body and her top and jeans had rips and tears in the fabric. I could also see a faint shining light surrounding her.

"W-what?! ... Who are you?!" I asked, scared.

"No need to be frightened. I want to speak with you." The woman said, kindly.

Suddenly, I started clutching my head in pain as a series of images starting flashing in my head.

After a while, the pain disappeared and I looked at the woman, startled.

"L-Lauren? Lauren Abel?!" I gasped. _"How is this possible?! The woman's dead!"_

Lauren could clearly read my thoughts and she smiled sadly. "Yes, I understand what you're thinking. But even though I'm dead, I still live on as a spirit."

"Then, what are you doing here, standing in front of me?!" I demanded.

"Let me explain. I know what's causing the symptoms you're having right now." She began.

"You do?" I asked. _"Okay, this is getting interesting. But still, the woman's dead! Why is she here?!"__  
_

"You're being stalked by The Slenderman. He's a tall thin man wearing a black suit with a blood-red tie. He has very pale skin and a blank featureless face. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. Nothing." Lauren continued.

_"Whoa! Could he be the guy I saw earlier?" _I thought, nodding for the deceased woman to say more.

"However, you're not the only one who is being stalked by him." She slowly waved her hand in front of her and an image appeared. I gasped in horror.

The image showed a group of animals running away from the mysterious entity. They all looked terrified, wanting to escape.

I saw three mammoths, a father, a mother and a teenage daughter. The youngest mammoth looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. I also saw an elderly female sloth with her grown up grandson, two sabre-tooth tigers, a little hedgehog and two opossums. Also among them was a weasel wearing a green eyepatch on his right eye and a giant elephant seal.

I recognised the animals. _The Sub-Zero Heroes. My Idols. They're real.._

_And they're being stalked by the Slenderman too! Why?!_

"Holy Sh*t!" I gasped. Realising what I just did, I quickly covered my mouth. _"Oops!"_

Lauren looked at me, amused. "There's always a first time for everything."

I shrugged, removing my hand. "Guess so.."

"I haven't told them about you yet, but I will get to that. For now, you can look up anything on the internet that has to do with the Slenderman; tips, advice, someone to talk to. I will return soon as a guide for you and the Herd. Farewell, Megan.."

Lauren then turned away and disappeared into a bright shining light.

I just stood there, baffled.

"Well, that was weird. But, still..." I paused, remembering Lauren's words.

"As soon as I get home, I'm gonna search every nook and cranny for information and hopefully someone to talk to..." I told myself, exiting the toilets.

I made my way towards the exit of the school, not knowing that...

The Slenderman was watching me...

I'm now targeted...


	6. Chapter 5: Disappearance

**Chapter 5: Disappearance**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_7.45pm_

"Hey Mum, I'm home!" I shouted cheerfully, as I closed the door behind me.

No Answer. "Mum?"

The house was dark and I felt like I was almost going to have a panic attack.

_"Please don't tell me the Slenderman took her! Please don't tell me the Slenderman took my mum! Please!"_

I switched on the light and it lit up the house brightly. _Much Better._

Afterwards, I walked into the living room, hoping to find my mum sitting on the sofa watching TV.

But, it was deserted.

No one was there.

"Muuum? Where are you?" I asked, getting worried.

The huge window had been broken, there were papers drawn all over the desk and I also saw a trail of blood on the carpet, leading to the huge window.

_"Oh F*ck! He has taken her! Why?!" _my voice echoed in my head.

My eyes darted all around the room, something bad has definitely happened whilst I was on my way home. "_I __should've gotten home faster! SH*T!"_

Just then, I realised that someone else was in the room. I turned round to face the Slenderman.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed and fell backwards.

He remained there in the same place for a few seconds before disappearing.

I gasped for breath and with some effort, managed to get back up.

"Are you okay Megan?" I heard the kind, friendly voice of Lauren ask me.

However this time, I couldn't see her.

"No. I'm not. My mum is missing and I'm all alone." I answered. Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes. But, I fought them back.

Just then a long, drawn out, blood curling scream was heard. I ran to the window and looked outside. It sounded pretty far away... But, I knew who it was.

"MUM!" I cried, panicking.

I turned away and grabbed my Ice Age backpack. I had to figure out what was going on. I had to find my mum and bring her back, safe and sound.

But, there was one other thing I needed to do first.

"Lauren?" I asked.

No answer. "Lauren? Can you hear me?"

Eventually, she answered. "Yes?"

"Do you know where the Herd is now?" I asked.

An image appeared in front of me again. It showed the group of animals walking through the forests. "They're on their way to your place now. Looks like you are about to meet your heroes." I heard Lauren say sweetly.

I smiled. "Yeah..."

_"I need to get myself ready. My idols are on their way. Just remember, behave normally and they'll like you more. Don't worry Mum, I'm coming.." _I said to myself, before walking off to my room.


	7. Chapter 6: Nightmares

**Chapter 6: Nightmares**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_Early hours of the morning, 2:00am_

"W-Where am I?" I wondered as I got up. "How did I get here?"

Turns out, I wasn't in my bedroom anymore. I was in an abandoned mining facility somewhere far away from home.

Did Lauren transport me here? Was I sleepwalking? I don't know...

The place was huge. I could hear heavy breathing and footsteps going at a quick pace.

_"I don't like this." _Feelng frightened and confused, I started making my way deeper into the mines and caught sight of an elevator. _"Right, there's my way out."_

Along a few feet in front of it was a generator. The button on it shone a bright red.

_"Hey, maybe if I switch that on, it will open up more passageways. Awesome!" _I made my way up to it and pressed the button. The red turned to a bright green and a signal noise echoed through the facility. _"Right, gotta move."_

The footsteps were gradually getting louder as I continued on through the hallways.

Little did I know that as soon as I found the second generator, something bad was going to happen. I knew someone else was in the mining facility and I didn't know if it was Lauren, my Mum, any of my friends from school or maybe it could be the Herd.

Eventually, I found the second generator and switched it on. The same signal noise from before echoed through the mines again and the footsteps were getting more and more louder. "Who..." I paused briefly. "Who's there?!" I asked, nervously. "Lauren?"

I went out of the room where the second generator was and continued on down the hallway. Only to be confronted by someone.

And it wasn't Lauren.

It was a 18 - 19 year old woman wearing a white bloodied hoodie, black dirty jeans, brown trainers and a black and white mask. She had her hood up which covered most of her face. But the long tresses of her black hair flew everywhere as she ran.

"Hi! Can you help me out here?" I asked politely. I got no answer.

She kept on running towards me and she had a look of fury on her face. That told me a lot. The girl got closer and closer and I just stood there, knowing what was going to happen if I didn't turn round and run.

_"Man, the lady's out for blood! Move Megan. MOVE KID!" my voice echoed in my head._

I turned round and started running. I knew that if I didn't find the damn entrance to the facility, the girl was going to kill me. I just knew it.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" I yelled, looking back every so often as I ran.

I turned round a corner and found myself back in the large area where the elevator, my only chance of escape was.

"LAUREN! MUM! ANYONE, HELP ME!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face.

The footsteps behind me were increasing in volume and I felt someone jump on me and pin me down.

_"Oh No." _I was turned roughly so that I was looking up into the 18 - 19 year old woman's face. Filled with murderous fury.

_"F*CK!" _I screamed in fright as the woman started beating me to death. I tried so hard to fight her back, but I was overpowered instantly.

_"MEGAN, WAKE UP!" _I heard a voice yell. It sounded very far away as it was in an alternate reality.

I shoved the woman off me, got up and sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me towards the voice. It was gradually getting louder as I got closer.

_"MEGAN!" _the voice yelled my name again, slowly getting more and more worried.

"I'M ON MY WAY!" I screamed as the woman jumped on me, pinning me down again. She turned me round more roughly and started to beat me to death again.

I struggled to fight back but the woman grabbed my arms and roughly pinned them down.

She then let go and punched me hard in the face. My vision became blurry as the struggle went on. I managed to return a smack which only did light damage.

_"MEEEGGGGAAAAANNNN!" _the voice yelled out again, anxious, worried and concerned.

By now, I didn't have the strength to fight the woman back. I knew she was victorious.

_"Go ahead. Kill me." _I closed my eyes and waited for the final blow which she delivered.

_"MEGAN, WAKE UP ALREADY!"_

* * *

_(Reality)_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I sat up in my bed.

"MEGAN!" I felt someone grab my shoulders but still, I kept screaming.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, struggling.

"Megan, look. It's me, it's me, it's me.. Look, look..." The person then cupped my face and I found myself looking into Lauren's brown eyes. "It's me..."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "What... what the hell happened?"

"You had a nightmare. But, it's okay.. You're fine now..." Lauren replied, letting go of my face. I climbed out of my bed, rubbing my eyes. "What is happening to me?"

The spirit was looking out my window and I could tell that she was smiling.

"Hey Megan. Guess who's out there in the car park.." She said, happily.

I came up to the window and looked out. I squealed in excitement and started jumping up and down.

A group of animals were outside my house, looking around.

It was the Sub - Zero Heroes, my idols.

I was about to meet them.


	8. Chapter 7: The Herd

**Chapter 7: The Herd**

Megan(Me)'s POV

After a few minutes, I turned away from the window. Making my way to my drawers, I took out a pair of dark blue jeans, several different coloured long - sleeved shirts and a white tank top.

"Hey Lauren, which one do you think I should wear?" I asked, as I quickly changed out of my Ice Age pjyamas.

"I think you should wear the white tank. Looks good for a girl like you.." the spirit answered, still watching the Herd.

I smiled. "Alright then. White one it is.."

Eventually, I finished and I slipped on my trainers. After that, I put the pjyamas and the other shirts back in the drawers.

"Okay, you can look now." Lauren turned round and smiled when she saw me.

"Looks Good.." She said.

"Aw thanks Lauren..." I smiled at her, before making my way to my door.

"You ready for this?" I asked, holding the door open.

My new friend followed and walked past, grinning. "Oh yeah.."

I laughed as I caught up with her. "Alright, let's go.."

As soon as we got out of the house, the two of us made our way down the stairs and out of the block of flats.

I saw the Herd a few feet away from us and I felt like I was about to scream with excitement. But, I held it back.

"Go on Megan, this is your chance.." Lauren said.

After a few minutes, I made my way up the steps into the car park and slowly made my way towards the Herd. _"They still haven't noticed me yet. Just behave normal and they'll like you more; simple!"_

"Excuse me?!" I shouted.

The group of animals turned to face me.

"Hi! ...umm... Do you guys need any help? I saw you from my window and you all looked a bit lost..." I began.

The large mammoth, Manny, quickly went and stood in front of the Herd, almost protecting them. He was giving me a look of anger and fury. "You stay back."

_"Here we go." _I thought. "Sir, I'm not gonna hurt you. See! I haven't got any weapons on me!" I pointed out.

"Stay. Away. From my family." Manny said, this time more darkly.

"Manny!" His wife, Ellie shouted.

"What?! I'm just trying to protect my family from that... THING!" He said, pointing his trunk at me.

"That Thing is called a human." I said, rather sharply. _"This isn't going well as planned. Lauren, I could use some back up here!"_

"Whatever, just stay away from my family." Manny almost shouted.

"Buddy, could you at least give the kid a chance?" The sabre tooth tiger, Diego asked. His girlfriend, Shira nodded in agreement.

"No. way."

"Aw c'mon! You're always like this to everyone we meet! Snap out of it!" One of the opossums, Crash shouted.

_"Well, at least the rest of the herd are backing me up." _I thought.

"Dad, just give the girl a chance and we'll be on our way." Manny and Ellie's daughter, Peaches said.

"No." Manny said, even more darkly.

_"Alright then." _I thought. _"Looks like Manny want me around. Dang it."_

The mammoth glared at me and I found myself glaring back at him. Not gonna lie, I was quite tempted to use one of the gags from the movies but I knew what Manny would say if I did.

Suddenly, I heard very light static and I turned to see the Slenderman standing right behind me. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, falling backwards.

After a few seconds, he disappeared. I gasped for breath.

The Herd just stood there, startled. "So, she's being stalked by the Slenderman too.." Manny pondered, after a moment's silence.

"Yep, I am. And he's awesome." I said, sarcastically.

The mammoth turned to face his family. "What do you guys think? Should she come with us?"

"I think she should!" Ellie said.

"Yeah, definitely!" The sloth, Sid said.

"She looks like a nice girl to hang out with, Yep!" Peaches said.

"The kid doesn't look that bad, so I say yes." Diego said.

One by one, the herd agreed with each other and after a while, Manny turned to face me.

"Fine. The thing's now with us." The mammoth said.

Ellie, Peaches, Diego, and everyone else grinned at each other. Meanwhile, Lauren came up behind me.

"See, I told you it wouldn't be so bad.." She said.

We watched the group of animals walk up to us, however Manny stood back a little.

"Hi. Sorry about my husband.. Whenever we meet somebody new, he always goes nuts and tries to protect us even if the new person is nice. Don't worry about it. By the way, what's your name?" Ellie asked, giving me a friendly smile.

"My name's Megan. Megan Daisy." I answered, returning the smile.

"Lovely name. I'm Ellie." The female mammoth said, holding out her trunk.

I took her trunk and shook it. "Aw thanks.."

Just then, Peaches came up. "Hey, my name's Peaches and just wanted to say sorry about my dad.."

"That's fine." I said. I knew what Manny was like. When someone first meets him, he starts out as really grumpy and cold. But as time goes on, he's shown to be a kind, caring and good-hearted mammoth.

Diego and Shira then stepped up.

"Hey, name's Diego and this is my girlfriend, Shira.." He said, holding out his paw.

I shook it and did the same with Shira. "Nice to meet you.."

"You too.." The female smilodon said.

"So, what are you doing out here on your lonesome'?" Diego asked.

"It's a long story... But we can all head in my house and I can tell you..." I offered.

"Yeah, okay..." Sid said.

"Manny, we're heading inside that building for shelter!" Ellie called out to her mate.

"Fine, coming." Manny said, following us. A few minutes later, he stopped to face me.

"Look, I don't mean to do any harm to you and your family.. Why can't we just along and maybe get to know each other?" I asked.

All the mammoth did was nod and continue on his way.

_"Oh god. Let's hope this is going to turn out well. Hold on Mum, I'm coming..." _I thought to myself as I caught up with my new friends.


	9. Chapter 8: Scrat's Arrival

**Chapter 8: Scrat's Arrival**

Scrat's POV

It's been several months since I landed in this desert and still, I haven't found a way out.

Due to my obsession with nuts, I've traveled all across the world to find my own.

I got stomped on by mammoths and nearly drowned in the flood, also went to heaven and back. Met a female of my kind named Scratte in a dinosaur world underneath the ice and nearly got eaten by sirens.

And I gotta admit, that was a long journey I've been on.

It's gotten up to the point where I'm thinking _"When will all of this nonsense stop?!"_

To be honest, I had no idea when I would just pick up my nut and hold it tight, never to be separated again. But, I will keep going._  
_

It was a hot sunny day and I was having a walk through the deserts, tired and exhausted. I couldn't find any water to drink and I was slowly losing consciousness as time went by.

After a while, something caught my attention.

A small pond was nearby and I immediately ran towards it. As soon as I got there, I started drinking as much as I could.

But little did I know, someone was watching me.

I turned round to face a tall, thin man wearing a black suit with a blood red tie.

At first, I thought he was just a normal bystander.

But, there was something wrong with his face.

No Eyes..

No Nose..

No Mouth..

Nothing..

Just a blank, featureless face..

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I yelped, jumping back and landing into the pond.

The man just stood there, looking down on me before teleporting someplace else.

"That was weird.." I thought, as I got out of the pond. "Who was that guy?"

I quickly dried myself off and continued on my way..

Not knowing what was going to happen to me next..


	10. Chapter 9: Bonding

**Chapter 9: Bonding**

Megan(Me)'s POV

Everything seems to be going okay at the moment..

Although, I was struggling to look for any information I could find on the computer whilst the Herd were settling in..

Eventually, I did find some facts..

"The Slenderman has many different methods of doing what he does. He abducts children and takes them away. He doesn't just appear at nighttime in the forest, he stalks adults and young children in the daytime. Previous victims of The Slenderman have also been turned into proxies, servants who do the mysterious entity's duties for him." I shuddered as I wrote it down on a piece of paper. _"I'm not sure if I'm going to like this guy, whatever he is.."_

Just then, I realised someone was watching me.

"Hey kiddo."

I turned to see Diego. "Hey."

"What are you doing?" The smilodon asked, walking up.

"Ah, nothing really. Just trying to find some information about this Slender guy. Anything that will help us.." I answered.

"Sounds good." He gave me a nod and made his way back to where everyone else was.

I continued searching for anything useful but after a while, I gave up.

After the computer shut down, I got up and joined the animals in the living room.

"Hey guys.." I said.

"Hey." They all replied.

"You find anything?" Shira asked.

"Yeah, I did. Not that much though." I answered, handing her the piece of paper I've written the facts on.

The female smilodon read the information and handed the paper back to me. "Nice one."

"Thanks." I gave her a nod and sat down on the nearby chair.

"So kid, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" The weasel, Buck suggested.

"Yeah.." The seal, Flynn agreed.

"Hmm.. That's a good idea.." Sid's grandmother said.

"Umm... Okay.." I said, quietly. I was quite surprised to see that Manny was also agreeing with Buck. Maybe he probably realised that I wasn't going to harm him and his family, something like that.

"So, how old are you?" Ellie asked, smiling.

"Twelve?" Crash guessed.

I giggled. "No, I'm fourteen. And I'll be fifteen in about... three or four months from now.."

"What do you like to do for fun?" Peaches asked.

"Wow umm... I like to hang out with my friends, even though I rarely have that much and... I don't know just... Having a great time.."

"Cool! Then you can hang out with me and Louis anytime because we like to have fun too!" Peaches said, excitedly. Louis, her friend nodded and grinned at me.

"Your friend doesn't really talk that much.." I said, in thought.

"He's just shy whenever he meets new people." The female mammoth said, nudging her friend playfully.

"Oh right, ok.. I'm kinda like that too. So Louis isn't the only one.." I smiled at the molehog.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" My new friend asked, smiling.

"No, well.. There is someone that I have my eyes on.." I replied.

"Oooooooh. What's he like?" Peaches said, giggling.

"The only thing I'm going to say is that... He always told me to smile whenever I felt upset.."

"Aaaaaaww that's so cute!" The teenage mammoth squealed.

I laughed. "Well, I haven't seen him for a while so... Hopefully I'll see him again soon.."

Shira was now smiling at me, amused. Looks like we're getting along pretty well._  
_

"Parents? Family? They happy with you?" Manny asked.

"Well, yeah. But..." I paused. "Something happened to my mum." I answered.

"What happened?" Diego wanted to know.

"It's... It's like this.. Yesterday when I came home, my mum was nowhere to be found. There's a trail of blood leading to the big window where I'm currently sat. And... When I looked out, I heard my mum scream. I think..." The tears were coming back but I fought them off. "the Slenderman has probably taken her."

Everyone looked at me, sympathetically.

"I'm so sorry.." Ellie said, placing her trunk on my shoulder.

"It's fine.." I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and opened them again. "So, I'm heading out to Oakside Park to find her."

"All by yourself in the dark?" Shira demanded.

"Well, yeah.." I said.

"We're being stalked by this guy too. So, we're coming with you." The female smilodon said.

"It's too dangerous Shira. All of you could get killed." I protested.

"Who cares? Besides, that's what friends are for. They help each other." She replied.

I smiled. "Thanks.."

Just then, Manny came up. "Sorry about what happened when we first met."

"It's cool." I said.

"Maybe I misjudged you.."

"Maybe you did." I replied, grinning. The mammoth chuckled.

"Well then, shall we go?" Ellie asked, letting go of my shoulder.

"Okay..." I said, running to get my backpack.

As soon as I put it on, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the drawers. Afterwards, I slipped it into my trouser pocket. "We never know where the Slender guy's gonna turn up.. So I'm taking my knife just in case."

Just then Diego chuckled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why are we on your backpack?" The smilodon said with amusement.

"Let's just say, a little bluebird came by and told me about you guys.." I replied, grinning.

As I went out of the kitchen and opened the front door to my flat, I turned round.

"Hey Lauren, you ready for this?" I asked.

"Yep." She answered.

I turned back to the door and went out, followed by my idols. "Then, let's go."


	11. Chapter 10: Going out

**Chapter 10: Going Out**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_Early hours of the morning, 2:10am_

"Alright then, off we go!" Peaches shouted.

I smiled to myself as I closed the front doors to the house of flats. I then turned round and started to catch up with the Herd who were already ahead of me.

"Hey guys, wait up!" I said, jogging up the staircase which lead into the car park.

My idols stopped and did what I asked. "Thanks.."

They all gave me a small friendly smile and continued on. After a while when we reached the streets which lead up to the small village where my school was, Diego spoke up.

"Hey kid?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Mind telling us in a little more detail why we're on your backpack?" The smilodon said, smirking when my eyes widened.

"Umm... Okay.. Well you might not understand most of it and if you don't, that's fine." I began.

"Go on." Diego urged. Everyone else came up too, eager to hear my explanation.

_"Man, I knew this would happen.." _I thought, feeling a little nervous.

"It's like this. The reason why you guys are on my backpack is that..." I paused. "There's a movie franchise which has you all as the main characters; Ice Age, The Meltdown, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Continental Drift and a short Christmas one. I've watched all of those movies ever since I was three years old and... I just happen to be one of your biggest fans." I told them, as we walked along.

My friends looked at me confused. _"Uh oh.."__  
_

Eventually, I breathed a sigh of relief as they all suddenly realised what I meant and smiled. They looked as though they were very moved at what I said.

"That is really sweet!" Ellie said.

"Up until now, we never really knew that we have fans.." Manny added.

"True.." Shira agreed, nodding to what the male mammoth said.

_"Man I could've explained that a lot better.." _I thought.

"You explained it just fine."

I spun round to see Lauren.

"Please quit scaring me like that.." I sighed faintly.

She threw her hands up in defense. "Sorry.."

I nodded. "It's fine.."

Just then, an idea popped into my head.

"Hey, do you know any places we can check out?" I asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, there is one place I know." Lauren answered.

"Great! Lead the way!" I said enthusiastically. _Finally, we're getting somewhere.._

The spirit nodded with a small smile and walked ahead of us.

I stood there, watching my friends chatting happily.

_"Hmm... About a year ago, I was always by myself until I met my first proper friend. He always liked adventure and had a carefree attitude. Now I have Lauren and the Herd. They're a nice bunch of people/animals and always up for a laugh. Hopefully my friend still remembers me if I ever run into him again." _I thought.

Just then, I snapped back to reality when I heard Manny call me.

"Hey Megan, you frozen back there?!"

That was the first time a herd member said my name. I felt happy, knowing that these guys were now starting to see me as a friend, not as an enemy.

"Nope, I'm coming!" I replied, running to catch up with the group of animals.

* * *

_Several hours later, Evening, 18:30pm_

We've been walking for pretty much the whole day and I was beginning to become very tired. So was Peaches, Louis, Crash and Eddie. At least I wasn't the only one.

"Mom, when are we going to stop?" Peaches groaned.

"Soon honey. Not long now." Ellie replied.

Lauren was ahead of us, looking for a way to get past this tree that was blocking our paths.

"Through here." She pointed down a pathway which was surrounded by trees and fields.

Apparently, I was the only one who could see her. The Herd couldn't but they could sense that she was there and we followed in her direction.

It was slowly becoming dark and we all knew that the Slenderman would come out soon.

After a while, we came across a wide fenced area with a house in the middle. A swingset was on the left side in front and behind the house was a slide along with the back gate.

"Should we go in?" I asked, pointing to it.

Pretty much everybody agreed but I saw Lauren looking a bit worried.

"Hey Lauren, you okay?"

"Yeah... It's just... I've been in this house before.." She answered.

"Oh okay... Whose house is this?" I asked.

She took a deep breath before answering my question. "My friend Kate's.."


	12. Chapter 11: Kate's House

**Chapter 11: Kate's House**

Megan(Me)'s POV

"Oh..."

The spirit looked a little sad after she revealed whose house it was - and that she knew the person who lived there. Something bad probably happened to her friend.

"W- Where is Kate now?" I asked quietly.

"She's... a proxy.." Lauren answered sadly.

I tried to imagine what Kate would look like, when I got a sudden flashback.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_The 18 - 19 year old woman wearing the white hoodie, black jeans and trainers and the white mask came running up to me and tackled me to the ground._

_I screamed and struggled to break free but she pinned me down and started beating me to death._

_After a while, I lost all the strength I had and the woman finished me off._

* * *

_(Reality)_

"Wait! Is she the woman from my nightmare?!" I asked, with a look of surprise.

"Y- Yes..." Lauren answered. At this point, I saw that she was visibly shaking and I gently put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry..."

She gave me a small smile. "Thanks.."

"Hey.. How about me and the Herd go in and you just wait out here? Sound good?" I suggested.

"Yeah... Yeah, that will work.." Lauren said, giving me a look of appreciation.

I released my hand from her shoulder and turned to face the house. My idols were already waiting for me at the front door.

"Okay... Going in.." I whispered.

I made my way over, only stopping once to look back at Lauren who was watching me with almost a frightened look.

"Poor _Lauren. It must be terrifying for her to relive what she has been through. The same thing I'm going through right now. There's gotta be something we can do to help her out of the state Slenderman has put her in. God, I hate that guy!" _I thought.

I reached the Herd and they all nodded. They were ready.

"Ladies first." Diego said.

Ellie, Shira and Sid's Granny smiled and they went in.

"Does that include me and Peaches?" I asked, jokingly.

The smilodon chuckled. "I meant you two as well."

"Oh right! Okay... Thanks Diego.." I said as I walked into the house, followed closely by the teenage mammoth.

* * *

Diego's POV

I turned to Manny, Sid, Crash, Eddie, Louis, Buck and Flynn and said: "I'm starting to like that kid. Are you?"

"Yeah.. For a fourteen year old, she seems okay about what she's going through.." Sid replied.

"Even though we got on the wrong foot when we first met, she's... actually not that bad." Manny added.

The possums and Louis both nodded in agreement.

"I just wish that we all could do something to help her if she doesn't find her mum.." I murmured after a moment of silence.

"We could let the kid join our herd.." Buck suggested.

"I suppose we could let her stay with us if things go downhill.." Manny agreed.

I took a moment to think things over. "I'll see if I can get more information about the kid. What happened in her past, what her friends are like, what her family are like, things like that.."

"Sounds good.." Flynn said.

* * *

Megan(Me)'s POV

As soon as I entered the house, my jaw dropped.

In front of me was a staircase leading up to the top floor, which also had a backpack at the bottom.

To my left was the entrance to the living room and on the walls were several frightening drawings of the Slenderman.

I turned to my right and had a quick peek in the dining room. Furniture were strewn about and pretty much every room in the entire house was messed up.

"Damn..." I murmured, not noticing that Shira was watching me.

"This place is a right old mess, eh?" She said.

I spun round to face her. "Yeah..."

"I guess the person who lived here wasn't really that tidy." The female smilodon continued.

"Actually, Lauren knows the person who lived here.." I replied.

Shira's jaw dropped. "Really?!"

"Yup.."

"Wait! Did she tell you that?" The smilodon asked. I nodded as if to say: "Yes.."

"Wow... It must be really hard for both of them.." Shira murmured, thinking things over.

I was about to reply but never got the chance as Sid's Granny came in.

"Hey kid, found this light thing in the living room. Thought you could use it." She said, handing me a flashlight.

I took it and switched it on. "Thanks Granny.."

The elderly sloth gave me a smile before going back to join Ellie and Peaches in the other room.

"You ought to maybe check upstairs, might find something.." Shira suggested, also giving me a smile before exiting the dining room.

* * *

Shira's POV

I decided to head back into the living room for a while. Ellie, Peaches and Sid's Granny must of gone into the kitchen to have a look around as I could hear their voices not very far from where I was.

Little did I know, someone was watching me.

"Hey.."

I turned to face Diego.

"Oh! Hey Diego, what's up?" I said, happily.

"Nothing really... Just thinking about everything that happened so far..." My boyfriend replied, smiling at me.

"You mean meeting Megan and all?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

"Oh... I've been thinking about that too..." I told him. Diego nodded for me to go on.

"I'm... starting to like her and I was wondering if there was anything we could do to help her if things go downhill..." I continued.

"That's the same thing I've been thinking about... Maybe we could invite Megan into our herd if we don't manage to get to her mum in time..." Diego suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea... But at the same time, I'm getting a little worried about her.. Kid's pretty brave though.." I replied, almost sadly.

My boyfriend could tell what I was thinking and nuzzled me. "The kid will be fine.."

I nuzzled him back and said: "Hopefully she will..."

* * *

Megan(Me)'s POV

Things seem to be going alright at the moment..

I was on my way down the hall, searching every nook and cranny..

Eventually, I got to Kate's room.

I tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge.

_Sh*t. The door appears to be locked. _I ran back down the hallway to the nearest room and went in.

It looked fairly normal. Basically, it was just a computer room which had the key on the desk. I took the key and held it tightly. _Bingo._

I came out of the room and went back to Kate's and unlocked the door.

Slowly, I opened it and my jaw dropped. Lauren's friend's bedroom was a mess. Drawings of the Slenderman were scattered everywhere and the window was broken.

"Geez..." I murmured as I walked in.

On the nearby desk were a video camera and a few pieces of paper that I picked up.

_'Go to the Radio Tower'_

_'Can you see it?'_

_'He's here!'_

I put the pieces of paper into my backpack when all of a sudden, I heard a long blood curling scream coming from the back gate.

"Now would be a good time to start recording.." I muttered, switching on the camera.

I put my backpack back on, grabbed my flashlight and sprinted out.

I came running down the stairs to see everyone waiting.

"Hey Megan, did you find anything?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah but no time to explain, we gotta move!" I answered, running out of the house.

My idols followed closely and we all sprinted to the back gate.

"C'mon Lauren!" I yelled. She quickly caught up with us.

But little did I know, we were about to go into something even more frightening..

* * *

_Hey guys,_

_Meant to say this in the pervious part but I'm sorry it's been so long.._

_Been dealing with GSCES at school so didn't really get enough time._

_And yes for those who wanted to see a DiegoXShira scene, you got what you wanted. :)_

_Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think so far.._

_Hope y'all doing good!_

_Megan Xx_


	13. Chapter 12: Charlie Matheson JR

**Chapter 12: Charlie Matheson JR**

Megan(Me)'s POV

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"No time to explain Lauren, we gotta keep moving!" I answered, still running.

"Alright then.. But still, I want to know what you saw in there.." The spirit demanded, catching up with me and the Herd.

"She'll tell you in a minute okay.." I heard Louis say.

_"Louis finally speaks, YES! That means he's becoming less shy.." _I thought. "Thanks man!" I said cheerfully.

"Your welcome.." The molehog replied, slowly getting out of breath.

Eventually, we stopped at a generator placed randomly on the grass. Mountains appeared quite far away behind it and down the hills, were several light posts.

"Heh. Like the ones back in the city.." I muttered, panting.

Manny, Ellie, Peaches, Diego and the others were struggling to catch their breath but Lauren was marching up to me, almost annoyed.

"What. did you. see in there?" She grabbed the neckline of my tank top and yanked it towards her so that we were face to face.

"Geez. Why are you so mad at me all of a sudden?" I wanted to know.

"The reason why I'm here is to steer you guys in the right direction and what happens? You head up to the top floor and get caught up in the same thing I did!" Lauren answered.

"We were already caught up in the same thing you did before we even got to this point!" I protested.

"JUST GIVE ME A ANSWER!" Lauren shouted.

"Fine. Want to know why I did what I did?" I challenged her.

She nodded.

"I went up into Kate's room to find some clues regarding my mother's disappearance and I f*cking heard your friend scream! You happy now?!" I demanded.

Lauren looked a little startled after I told her that. She let go of my tank top and turned away from me.

"My mum is missing. She could be dead and if she is, I don't know where else I can go. God, I have difficulty getting along with other people and..." I paused. My idols' eyes widened as they watched the scene that was unfolding before them. "If things do go downhill, I might as well end it right there..." I finished. The tears were coming again but I fought them back.

Lauren slowly turned round to face me. She looked almost shocked at what I just said.

"Are you saying... That if things get worse, you'll go?" The spirit asked.

I nodded. "If it turns bad, then I'm gone."

Everyone looked at me sympathetically. Lauren walked up to me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry... I just got worried about you, that's why I was mad... Don't worry, we'll get your mother back... I promise..."

Ellie stepped up. "I'm with Lauren... We'll help you get through this..."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys..." I said, fondly.

After a while, Lauren looked past me and walked over to the generator, letting go of my shoulder as she did so. She then switched it on and the light posts lit up.

"Bingo. Now we can find our way round.." I said to myself.

We started walking down the hills, me holding the video camera and flashlight and Lauren leading the way. Soon we passed a small construction site which had an old newspaper on it.

_'Fatal blaze erupts at Oakside House.'_

"Wow.." I heard Diego mutter.

"Sid would never do that type of thing, would he?" I asked as I turned to face the smilodon.

"If he does, then it would be an accident for sure.." Diego smirked when Sid overheard us.

"Hey! Why do you gotta be like that?" The sloth wanted to know.

"Cool it Sid. We're just messing with ya." I grinned at Diego when he said that.

"Yeah.. We're just joking.." I quickly added. Sid then calmed down a little and went to catch up with the others.

I was about to follow him when Diego stopped me. "Hey. If we don't manage to find your mother, your welcome to stay with us for a while."

I gave him a small smile. "Thanks.." After that, I ran to catch up with the others along with Diego following closely.

We all went up the hill to come across another generator below. Lauren walked up to it and switched it on.

Once again, the light posts nearby lit up and they revealed mountains, trees and a small river nearby.

Focusing my flashlight on the second setting, I caught sight of a poster on one of the trees.

"Hey guys, there's something over there on that tree!" I shouted to everyone else as I jogged up to it.

As soon as I reached it, I took the poster and showed it to everyone else.

_'MISSING: __Charlie Matheson JR'_

The poster revealed a picture of a 9 - 10 year old boy with a happy smile on his face.

"Well, I guess we need to find the boy too." Manny groaned in annoyance.

Just then, I felt a burning presence surround me and I looked up to see the Slenderman standing on top of a nearby mountain, watching us.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, tumbling backwards and landing against the tree. Lauren and the Herd rushed towards me, concerned.

"Megan what happened?" Ellie asked.

"I...I..." I struggled to find the right words and paused. Peaches gently put her trunk on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I only managed to nod. "I saw him..."

My idols looked at each other. Lauren took a moment to think things over and after a while, turned to face us.

"We need to get moving. Megan's mum could be anywhere." She said.

Peaches nodded and helped me up. I looked past her and saw a large burnt house on the other side of the river.

"I'll... be right back..." I said.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Shira wanted to know.

"To check out that house over there." I answered, pointing to the other side of the river.

"Oh, okay. Don't take long." The female smilodon said. I smiled at her and continued on.

* * *

Lauren's POV

We all watched as Megan crossed the small bridge to the burnt house which I have been in myself.

"Be safe..." I whispered.

"She'll be fine..."

I turned to face Ellie. "Hopefully.."

Manny walked up to us. "So Lauren, I don't know where you are but what happened to you before we met?"

"It's a long story... My friend Kate went missing as she was being stalked by the Slenderman. I went out to find her but she got turned into a proxy. She's probably still in the mining facility which is not that far away from here. At the end of my journey, I came face to face with her and I got murdered." I answered.

"Man..." Sid gasped. "Then, how are you still here?"

"I said it once and I'll say it again - I'm. a. spirit." I said, darkly.

"Whoa hey. No need to get mad there. I was just asking.." The sloth put his hands up in defense.

"I know, I know.. It's just..." I paused. "I don't want the same thing to happen to Megan. If she comes face to face with her mum and the person she's looking for murders her, that means Megan would have died exactly the same way I did. And I can't let that happen.." I said.

"Don't worry... That won't happen to her.." Louis reassured me.

"Weener's right. We'll help you keep the kid safe.." Crash said.

The molehog turned to face the possum. "I thought you said you'd stop calling me that!"

The possums just smirked mischievously. Whilst, I turned to look back at the burnt house. _He's still in there. Megan, I'd get out sooner or later if I were you._

* * *

Megan(Me)'s POV

"Whoa! This place is interesting!" I murmured as I walked through the open spaces which I guessed used to be the doors.

I could sense that someone was in the house somewhere as I went deeper inside.

"Hello?!" I shouted. No answer.

"Great. This isn't gonna end well..." I muttered under my breath.

After a while, I entered this really dark room in the very centre and found that there was somebody in there.

A skeleton like figure was standing in the corner, almost goofing around in his own little world. I took this opportunity to walk up to him.

"Excuse me?! Can I help you with something?!" I asked as I came up to the figure.

The only answer I got was that the figure turned round and several frightening images of him violently murdering me appeared in my camera.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I screamed, as I fell back a little. After the images disappeared, the figure was gone.

"That was... creepy.. Please tell me that skeleton thing doesn't come after me..." I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and opened them again.

"Okay, I'm outta here..." I muttered as I turned round to make my way out of the burnt house.

Little did I know, the skeleton figure was actually Charlie Matheson JR.

The missing boy we saw on the poster.


	14. Chapter 13: Oakside Park

**Chapter 13: Oakside Park**

Diego's POV

_Several minutes later..._

"Seriously, what is taking her so long?!"

Lauren was now panicking. I could tell that she desperately wanted Megan to get out of the burnt house before anything happened to her.

"Calm down Lauren!" Manny shouted. "What demonic entity could be hiding in that burnt house?!"

The spirit turned to face my friend. "I've been in that house myself. There's a proxy in there that's just waiting to attack her."

"And who is that proxy!?" I demanded.

She took a deep breath before answering. "Charlie Matheson JR."

My eyes widened in shock. "No way.. You mean the missing boy from the poster?"

Lauren nodded.

Shira came up next to me, looking surprised too.

"Poor kid.. I feel bad for him.." My girlfriend murmured.

Just then, I saw someone exit the burnt house. It was Megan and she didn't look like she was having a good time.

"Hey! There she is!" Sid shouted happily.

"Oh thank god..." Lauren said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Ellie smiled. "Told you she'd make it out.."

I walked up to Megan, closely followed by Shira. My girlfriend looked pretty pleased that she was okay, but she was also worried about her due to the expression on her face.

"Guys! You're not gonna believe this!" Megan shouted, as she came up to us.

We all knew exactly what she was going to say but we urged her to continue.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"I saw this skeleton person and I walked up to him just out of curiosity, and several images of him violently murdering me come up in this very camera!" The kid pointed to it as she spoke.

"What happened next?" Shira asked, concerned.

"After the images disappeared, he was nowhere to be seen! And a few minutes later, here am I now." The fourteen year old finished.

Crash and Eddie who apprently haven't heard what Megan told us earlier and were too busy fighting, stood there shocked and possibly frightened. Peaches saw this and turned to face them.

"You haven't heard what our friend told us, haven't you?" The female mammoth asked.

The possum brothers just stood there. I could tell that they didn't want to answer in case we all got mad at them, so I stepped up.

"They didn't." I said, giving the possums a annoyed 'You should have been listening' look whilst walking off.

Eddie glared at his brother and smacked him. Crash glared back and lunged towards him, tackling the possum to the ground screaming furiously.

"YOU STUPID IDIOT! WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO HER!"

"OH, I'M THE ONE THAT'S STUPID!? YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!" Eddie yelled in fury.

"C'mon guys, let's go.." Manny sighed, gesturing for everyone else to follow as he joined us.

I looked back to see Sid and his granny catching up to us with the others in tow. And the possums were still fighting, like how brothers usually do. Shira caught with me and gave me a loving smile and nuzzle which I returned.

To be honest even though I can't see her physically, Lauren's... actually not that bad. I felt sorry for her after she told us how she died at the end of her journey and I still do.

A small smile lit up on my face when I heard Megan chatting to Peaches about the events of the Continental Drift but at the same time both me and Shira were becoming worried about her.

'What can we do to help the poor kid and what if we can't find her mother?' I thought.

* * *

Peaches' POV

"So... What do you want to talk about now?" Megan asked, as we walked on.

"Maybe you can tell me more about this special person you've taken a shine to?" I suggested, giggling when my human friend blushed a little.

"Okay..."

I leaned a little closer to her with a massive grin. " So, what else does this guy say to you whenever you feel down?"

"Well... I remember a few days after we first met, I was becoming a little frightened of confronting this guy who my friend doesn't like but as soon as those words came out, he looked me in the eye and said: 'Nothing starts until you take action. If you have time to worry, then run..'" The fourteen year old said with a huge smile.

"Aaaawwww! That is so cute!" I squealed in delight. "You asked him out yet?"

"No, I haven't.. He probably doesn't feel the same way I do... Plus I haven't seen him for about several months or even a year, so... He's probably forgotten me.." Megan's smile faded as she said this and she looked down, sadly.

I placed my trunk on her shoulder. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten you.. Whoever he is, he's probably still thinking of you right now.."

My friend smiled when she heard this. "Thanks Peaches.."

I smiled back at her, whilst letting go of her shoulder. "No problem... So what does he like to do for fun?"

"He often likes getting exercise but most of all, he likes hanging out with his friends.. Me being one of them.." Megan answered, breaking into laughter as she finished.

I laughed with her. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah, I know right!" We both giggled.

"So, how about you? Do you have a special someone in your life?" Megan asked.

"Well... I do but... I don't know where he is now..." I answered.

"Oh... Sorry to hear that.. What happened?"

"It's a long story..." I said.

"Oh right ok... I understand if you don't want to say but that's what friends are for, they help each other..." The fourteen year old replied.

"You do have a good point there Megan.. Thanks anyways.."

"That's okay... What's your boyfriend's name?" She asked.

"Ethan.."

"Cool name!" My friend said.

"Yeah! It is a cool name.. Ethan always hung out with his group which include my friends Steffie, Katie and Meghan.. The girls were pretty mean to me at first but after I was reunited with my dad, they became nice.."

"That's a relief.." Megan said, kindly.

Just as I was about to reply, I heard Lauren shout to us excitedly.

"Guys, I think we're almost there!"

We both looked at each other, knowing what was about to happen.

"Looks like Lauren's right.." I said.

* * *

Megan(Me)'s POV

'Oakside Park'

The two words on the massive sign came up as we got closer to the entrance. This is the place. Finally, we made it.

I turned to face my friends. "So now what do we do?"

Lauren walked up ahead and gestured for us to follow. So we did.

Inside the small building, were several hallways and light switches on the walls.

Eventually, we came to this bigger room which had a normal desk on the end with lots of papers and a notebook.

I walked up to the desk, took the notebook and read the passage to the curious animals.

_'He came for me..'_

_'Why didn't I listen?'_

_'He was right, he said this would happen..'_

_'Come find me..'_

_'Need CR, he knows how to deal with this..'_

_'Don't let him in..'_

I turned to face Lauren. "You read this note?"

"Yup.." She answered.

I decided to take a moment to think. We've come this far.. My mum could be anywhere and I need to find her.. What can I do?

"Hey kid, you okay?"

Diego was looking at me, concerned. Maybe, he saw what I was thinking and wanted to do something to help.

"Yeah.. I'm okay..." I answered, putting on a brave face.

Just then, Louis stepped up. "Hey guys, why don't we look around the park and find some clues regarding Megan's mother's disappearance?"

"Sounds good.." Sid's Granny said.

Lauren opened the door on the right side and held it open for us.

As I walked through, I thought about what we could do after the troubles with the Slenderman were over..

But little did I know..

He was just about to make his move..


	15. Chapter 14: The Eight Pages

**Chapter 14: The Eight Pages**

Manny's POV

As soon as Megan and Lauren came out of the small building after everyone else, I decided to step up.

"Hey guys, I think I got a plan on how we're gonna stop this guy."

My family and friends to face me. They all seemed curious on what my idea was, whether it would be good or bad.

"We all spilt up into groups and find any information we can. We'll meet up in the very centre of the park after a few hours. It doesn't really matter who goes with who, but the main thing is that..." I paused to briefly compose myself for I too was slowly becoming terrified of getting killed by the Slenderman and losing the people I love.

My wife looked at me, concerned. "Manny?"

Eventually, I did pull myself together and I continued on. "We all stick together and survive this.."

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, Manny's right. We are Family." Sid said.

"So, who's with who?" Buck wanted to know.

"Like I said before, it doesn't matter who goes with who.." I answered.

After hearing this, Buck went to stand with Flynn. Crash and Eddie gave each other a high five and stood with Peaches and Louis.

Sid however, had to look after her granny who was always asking him to chew something for her even when she has her own set of teeth.

Diego decided to stick with Shira as he could see that she wanted him to be with her for a while.

Megan gave Lauren a small friendly smile as if to say: "I guess I'm with you then.." in which the spirit returned appreciatively.

Ellie locked trunks with me and gave me a loving look. I smiled back at her and turned to everyone else.

"Okay, looks like we're set.."

We all then went in different directions into the park.

Not knowing that the Slenderman was already planning to strike.

* * *

_A few minutes later.._

"So far, so good.." I muttered under my breath as I kept up with Ellie.

"Don't worry Manny, we're all gonna make it out of this alive.." My wife reassured me.

"I hope so.." I said, deep in thought.

As we continued on, it began to get more dark as the evening turned to night.

I walked slowly, thinking about everything that has happened over the years.

Losing my first family..

Meeting Sid and Diego..

Escaping the flood with Ellie and the possums..

Teaming up with Buck in an underground world of dinosaurs and Peaches' Birth..

Fighting the pirates and meeting Shira..

Everything that's happened up to this point..

Just then, I snapped out of my trance when Ellie called me.

"Hey Manny! Check this out!"

I walked over to where she was, almost feeling nervous about what my wife found.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Look!" Ellie pointed her trunk towards a piece of paper stuck on a massive postboard which had some information about the park.

_'Don't look or it takes you...'_

I stepped back a little, confused. "Who would write that?"

"No idea.." My wife answered, taking the paper of the tree.

Just then, a very slow beating sound started echoing all across the woods.

"We gotta move." I said. Ellie nodded and we both continued on.

* * *

_**(Sid and his Granny)**_

Sid's POV

"Shhh.. Listen. What is that sound?" I asked my grandmother.

"Ah, probably just some massive giant stomping around. I wouldn't worry about it." She answered.

I eventually calmed down a little as we pressed on through the forests.

Even though I was trying to pull myself together, the slow beating sound was making me paranoid even more by the second, as I looked behind us to see what was going on.

"Oh gosh, do you think the Slenderman might pop out and scare us?" I asked, becoming even more paranoid.

"No idea." Was the only answer I got.

To be honest, I didn't even know why Granny seemed almost... unafraid by all this.

Or maybe it was just me. I remembered becoming frightened of drowning in the flood and getting killed by Rudy. At least, I had my herd with me throughout all of the events leading up to this point.

"Hey, Sidney! Remember the good ol' days?"

"Which good ol' days?" I wanted to know.

"Ah, you know. The Continental Drift, becoming a part of a real family.." Granny gave a little smile. "Not the days with our old family.."

I chuckled when I heard this. "Yeah, I'd rather forget those days with our old family.. Sometimes, you just gotta let go of the past.."

"Good point." My grandmother replied.

It was only after a few hours of walking through the dark, scary woods when I caught two pieces of paper stuck up on a nearby tent.

"Granny! Look at this!" I shouted, pointing to the papers.

"Yeah, I see them!" My grandmother shouted back.

We both ran up to the tent and I had a careful look at what the papers read.

_'Can't run...'_

_'Always watches... No eyes...'_

"That's terrifying." I said, almost shaking in fright.

As soon as these words left my mouth, a low droning sound started to echo all around us.

Static briefly appeared in my vision and I turned round to see the Slenderman, just staring at us. He stayed there only for a moment, before vanishing.

"Uh, I think we should move." I said, facing my grandmother.

"Yeah, I agree." She replied as we both resumed our trek.

* * *

_**(Diego and Shira)**_

Diego's POV

"Ugh, these noises are really annoying me!" Shira sighed, angrily.

"I agree. Whoever's causing them, I will find them and make them pay." I said.

"And I was just about to say that, softie.." My girlfriend said, jokingly with a smile.

I returned the smile and took a few moments to think. "I wonder how Megan's doing.."

"Sure she's doing okay.. But right now, we have other problems. Look!"

I turned to where Shira pointed and a quick glance of the Slenderman made me jump right out of my fur. I yelped in fright and as soon as I did, he disappeared.

"Let's keep going.." I said, trying to pull myself together.

My girlfriend nodded and we pressed on up the really steep hills. I understood that nighttime could sometimes be scary for some people. Or animals, in Crash and Eddie's case.

Shira was thinking to herself, when all of a sudden she decided to speak up. "Hey Diego?"

I paused in my tracks and turned to face her. "Yeah?"

She looked at me, almost nervous. "I...I think... Uh, nevermind.. I've forgotten what I was about to say.." My girlfriend kept on walking upwards and I looked on after her.

"You alright?"

Shira turned her head round. "Yeah, it's just... I've been having a few crazy days that's all."

For a moment, I stood there confused. After a second, I nodded and followed her.

As we walked up, static appeared in my vision for a longer period of time and I found myself getting dizzy. Shira saw and rushed towards me.

"Diego, are you okay?" My girlfriend asked, worriedly.

"I'm good. I'm good. Don't worry about me." I quickly answered, whilst trying to pull myself together.

She nodded and moved on upwards. I followed her and eventually, we got to the top.

There was a tall tower and hanging loose on it was a page.

"Hey, Shira. Look!" I said, pointing to it.

My girlfriend took the page from the tower and had a quick look at what it read.

_'Follows...'_

"Uh, I gotta admit. That's creepy." She said.

"What? What is it?" I asked. Shira showed me the page and my jaw dropped. "Geez.."

As soon as I said that, a noise which almost sounded like a whistle echoed throughout the park for a brief second.

I looked at my girlfriend and she nodded. We both started making our way down the hills back into the woods, where everyone else was presumably.

* * *

_**(Peaches, Louis, Crash and Eddie)**_

Peaches's POV

"Hurry!" I shouted.

All four of us ran as fast we could, me taking the lead. After a while, we stopped to catch our breath.

"Phew! That was close!" Louis gasped.

"Yeah.. I can't believe the Slenderman nearly caught us.." I replied, breathing hard. The possums looked very frightened, also breathing.

"So, what do we do now?" Crash wanted to know. Eddie just shrugged.

I looked round and realised that we were near a beach. "How about we look over there?"

"Sounds good.." Louis said.

The four of us then started walking down the beach, jumping at whatever noise the Slenderman made to indicate that he was coming.

"When will this be over?!" Eddie asked, scared.

"I don't know.. Hopefully soon.." My molehog friend answered, concerned.

Static came into my vision and the Slenderman briefly appeared right in front of us.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, almost tumbling backwards.

"PEACHES!" Louis shouted worriedly, running over to me.

As soon as my molehog friend shouted my name, the Slenderman vanished.

"Are you okay?"

"Y... Y... Yeah..." I stammered, whilst trying to pull myself together.

Louis gave me a worried look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Louis.. Don't worry..." I answered, putting a brave face.

He then nodded and gave me a small smile which I returned. The moment didn't last very long as the possums' voices interrupted a moment later.

"Hey Guys! Look what we found!" Crash shouted.

"What?!" I asked.

The two brothers came over with two pieces of paper they found presumably earlier. I peered at what the papers read.

_'Leave me alone...'_

_'Help me...'_

"What... the heck?" Was all I could say before a loud wind started echoing and the Slenderman appeared right in front of us.

"RUN!" I screamed.

Louis, Crash and Eddie screamed in fright as well and the four of us took off. Not looking back. Not knowing that the entity had vanished as soon as we bolted.

* * *

_**(Buck and Flynn)**_

Buck's POV

"THERE HE IS!" I screamed.

I saw that the Slenderman was now coming for us again and he looked very aggressive. Tentacles sprung out of his back and that was not a good sign.

"C'mon Buck! Up there!" Flynn yelled, running up the pathways. I followed closely.

After a few hours, we stopped to catch our breath outside a small building.

"Let's head in there for shelter Flynn." I said. My friend nodded and we went inside. "At least we didn't get killed."

The elephant seal gave me a look of agreement and relief. "Why don't we have a look around this place?"

"Sounds good." I grinned at him. The two of us started to explore the building, checking in all of the rooms for any information.

"Apparently, this is the visiting centre for the park we're all in right now. You ever seen buildings like this before?" I asked my friend.

"Nope. First time." Flynn answered. "You?"

"Same as you."

He grinned. "Cool."

We continued on looking around the building, but so far we found nothing. Static came into my vision and I turned to see the Slenderman blocking our only exit.

"Well, looks like we're trapped." I sighed, turning back to continue on.

I walked into a small hallway and Flynn was nowhere to be seen.

"Flynn?" I called out.

No answer.

"Buddy?!" I called out again. Still no answer.

"Dang it." I muttered under my breath as I started checking the rooms. The static was still in my vision and it was getting worse.

So far, there was nothing useful in pretty much all the rooms I checked. I had no clue where Flynn was but I was hoping that he was okay.

Just then, I got a sudden flashback of my old home, the dinosaur world.

I saw myself fighting Rudy and losing my eye..

I saw myself meeting Manny, Ellie, Diego and the possums..

I saw the events in the Chasm of Death, which actually were pretty hilarous..

I saw me and the possums flying on one of the winged dinos towards Lava Falls and rescuing Sid..

And, the final thing I saw was myself hearing Rudy's roar before I nearly joined the Herd..

I snapped out of my trance when I heard a familar voice. "Buck!"

"Flynn?!" The elephant seal came rushing up to me. "Where the heck were you Flynn?"

"I was just searching these rooms and I found this." My friend said, pointing to a page he discovered. I took it and carefully looked at it.

The page was a simple drawing of the Slenderman hiding among a group of trees.

A high beeping sound then started echoing around us and the static in my vision got worse.

"Let's get outta here buddy.." I said, relieved to see that he was okay. Flynn nodded and thankfully, the Slenderman had disappeared from the only exit.

* * *

_**(Megan and Lauren)**_

Megan(Me)'s POV

"Calm down Megan, calm down.." Lauren kept looking around worriedly in case I got killed right here.

I had experienced more symptoms of the 'slender sickness', as Lauren calls it a few times since the Slenderman himself started chasing us.

As soon as Lauren told me to calm down, I threw up violently as the entity's blank featureless face appeared in my head. "But... But... But what if-" I never got to finish my sentence as I vomited again.

My friend looked around again and caught sight of the Slenderman walking towards us. Tentacles grew out of his back, and we both knew what that meant. "C'MON MEGAN, LET'S GO!"

Breathing heavily, I pulled myself up, grabbed my flashlight and camera and we both bolted. Lauren took the lead, and I followed closely.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" She shouted.

"I'm right behind you Lauren!" I yelled. To be honest, I felt like I was going insane.

After several hours, we finally stopped. Although, the static in my vision was worsening and my camera was acting silly. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THIS THING?!"

"I know what's happening with it but, I can't explain right now..." Lauren breathed.

I understood why she couldn't, but I had other things on my mind right now. Like having that blasted nose bleed again. "Alright..."

Just then, the Slenderman teleported right in front of us.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! F*CK!" I screamed, sprinting away. Lauren followed closely.

The blood was now dripping from my nose onto my white vest. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again as I ran.

"Lauren, you with me?!" I shouted.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you Megan!" I heard her shout back.

We ran down the hills all the way to the beach where I hoped the Slenderman would lose track of us.

And he did.

For now.

"I think it's clear..." Lauren said, gasping for breath. I nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should look down there, there's a portable bathroom over there. That could have some information." I pointed out.

"Sounds cool to me.."

We both ran towards it and the static appeared in my vision again. This time, it was even worse than before.

Eventually, we got there and like I presumed, there was some information.

"YES! BINGO!" I shouted in delight, punching the air with my fists. Lauren grinned at me and gestured for me to take the page, and I did.

My smile faded as soon as I looked at the page. "Wait! How can this be information?"

The page was a picture of the Slenderman with the word _'No_' written on both sides, twelve times. Just then, the noises stopped.

I ignored my previous question and realised something. Maybe, the Slenderman decided to let us go. If he did, then I could get to my mother more easily.

Lauren however, didn't look too good. "Uh, I'd start moving if I were you.." She said, pointing behind me.

I turned to find myself staring staright into the blank, scary, featureless face of the Slenderman.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! RUN!" I screamed.

We both sprinted as fast as we could towards the centre of the woods. Soon enough, I caught sight of Manny, Ellie, Sid, Diego, Shira and everyone else all running towards the centre from opposite directions.

Diego and Shira saw me and shouted out my name. "MEGAN!"

I saw them and did the same thing. "DIEGO! SHIRA!"

I looked back to see the agressive entity chasing us, just before I found myself tripping over and bumping into Lauren. We both screamed as we tumbled over the hill and fell towards the ground, followed by everyone else.

The last thing I heard was Lauren, Ellie, Peaches, Shira and Diego screaming my name just before everything went black.

* * *

_Hey Guys,_

_Sorry for the long wait, I was pretty busy with rehearsals for a production I'm taking part in at the theatre I work at._

_The performances begin three weeks from now, so I won't be able to upload more chapters quickly. I will, after the dates are over and done with._

_As always, feel free to leave a review and hope y'all are enjoying this so far! :)_

_Megan Xx_


	16. Chapter 15: Return of Scratte

**Chapter 15: Return of Scratte**

Scrat's POV

_(Meanwhile, back in the deserts)_

The sight of the tall man with the suit and the blank face still shook me, even after he vanished.

I decided to shrug it off as I had more important things on my mind to think about..

Such as, getting out of this crazy desert and finding my nut!

As I was continuing on my journey, I got a sudden flashback which made me stop and clutch my head in pain.

I screamed as images of a very familiar sabre-tooth squirrel appeared in my mind.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Sniffing the ice, I crawled along it hoping to find my nut somewhere around here. _

_I had to stop eventually because looking down, all I saw was an abyss and a long thin tree branch going to the top. _

_My nut was there, just waiting to be picked up and held close._

_"Yes!"_

_I crawled across the thin tree branch, feeling so happy that I was finally going to get my nut back.._

_But as soon as I got there.._

_"HEY! Where did it go?!" _

_My nut had disappeared. Although, I did hear a rustling of leaves nearest the huge tree in front of me._

_I ran to get behind it and very cautiously peeked round._

_The very second I did, my jaw dropped._

_A red female sabre-tooth squirrel was swishing the leaves with her tail and she looked as though she was a flirty seductive female._

_I gazed at her, slowly realising that I was falling in love with her. _

_This went on for a few moments before she took hold of a nut, looking at it with a smile._

_That was when I realised.. This wasn't just any nut.. It was my nut.._

_"WHAT THE?!"_

_I darted back behind the tree and decided to think of a plan._

_Eventually, I did. _

_Keeping myself hidden, I reached out for my precious nut. As soon as I did, I felt someone grab onto it the same time I did._

_The female squirrel was looking at me, confused and almost anxious. I just snatched my prize away from her and continued on my way._

_A noise of crying made me stop in my tracks._

_I turned round to see the female looking at me and sobbing in heartbreak. That made me feel a little guilty._

_But still, it was my nut and no one else could have it apart from myself._

_I inched slowly towards her and held out my nut with a small smile. She beamed and took hold of it._

_Instead of letting her have it, I kept my grip. She began to glare at me and I did the same thing._

_We then started moving close towards the edge of the cliff, yelling and shouting at each other to let go of the nut._

_The last thing I heard was the female screaming and I just held my nut tightly in my arms._

* * *

_(Reality)_

After hours of screaming and clutching my head in pain, I finally stopped to catch my breath.

_"That was intense..."_

I went to continue on my way, but something made me stop. I felt like... someone was following me.

I slowly turned round to find myself staring into the seductive blue-green eyes which were blazing with anger of the same red female squirrel I encountered those years ago.

My jaw dropped in shock and fright. How did she get all the way here?! I thought I left her in the dinosaur world underneath the ice!

_"Scratte?!__"_

* * *

Hey Guys,

How y'all doing?

Sorry this is a short one, really busy right now with the usual things I go through every week..

However, I will be able to upload longer parts after I get school and everything else done and out of the way..

So be prepared for the next chapter coming up soon! :)

Also unfortunately, this one or the next one may be the last as SOPA is most likely deleting all of our hard work two days from now.. Not looking forward to that day.. :-(

Feel free to leave a review and tell me that you think..

And I hope y'all are doing good and are enjoying this so far!

Megan Xx


	17. Chapter 16: Ethan and the Brat Pack

**Chapter 16: Ethan and the Brat Pack**

Megan(Me)'s POV

_(Unconsciousness)_

Darkness..

That's all I could see..

I was stuck in that solid, black, empty void..

For the first time in my life..

I had no idea how long I was unconscious for, ever since I fell off the ledge whilst being chased by the Slenderman..

And I don't know where Lauren and my idols are right now..

Where are they?

What happened to them?

I need to know... Now.

* * *

_(Daytime, 10:35am)_

"Hey! Megan! Megan, wake up!"

"Huh?... Who's that?" I asked, almost tiredly.

"Ugh... Don't you remember me and our discussions about your friend?..."

As soon as I heard that question, my eyes snapped open in an instant.

The first thing I saw was the warm yellow sun, shining so brightly in the morning blue sky. Next to it, looking down at me was a young female mammoth.

Who I knew very well.

"Peaches!" I shouted happily as she helped me pull myself up. "How did you find me?"

"Well apparently after we all got knocked out, the Slenderman teleported us to different places. I think I was probably the first one out of everyone to wake up and when I did, I came to find you.." My friend explained to me, smiling.

I found myself smiling back at her. "That's nice..."

"Yeah..." Peaches replied. Just then, she looked at me confused. "Wait, where's your backpack?"

I put my hands to my back and felt nothing, except the fabric of my white tank. "Oh no.."

Turning round quickly, I eventually discovered it lying on the ground. Strangely, next to it was a blue jacket along with a pistol and twenty bullets.

"There it is.." I said, running up to it. My mammoth friend followed closely.

As soon as I got there, I reached down and picked up the jacket. It looked pretty much my size, so I quickly tried it on.

"What do you think Peaches?" I asked.

"Looks good.." She answered, giving me a look of approval.

"Aw thanks.." I said sweetly, as I picked up my backpack and slipped my arms through the blue straps.

After I did that, I grabbed the pistol and loaded it with ten bullets. I then put the other ten bullets in my left jean pocket. "Hey, do you see my flashlight and camera?"

Peaches looked around for a bit, but then shook her head. "Nope.."

I groaned. "Damn it."

"I'm sure we'll find them eventually.." My friend reassured me.

"Well the last time I saw them, they were right in my hands." I pointed out.

"Maybe, the Slenderman teleported them somewhere so that we would have to find them." Peaches replied. I groaned in annoyance again. _I will find you, Slenderman!__  
_

Eventually, I calmed down. "Okay..."

Peaches looked around for a little while before asking: "Shall we go and find Dad and the others?"

"Yeah..." I answered, giving her a look of agreement.

She smiled at me. "Alright, let's go..."

The both of us then walked off through a nearby small forest.

With no idea what was going to happen next..

* * *

_(A few hours later)_

"How much longer Peaches?" I asked, as we walked along.

"Not far, I'm thinking... Hopefully we'll get the flashlight and camera on the way.." My friend answered.

"Hopefully we will..." I said quietly.

As soon as I said this, we came out of the forest onto a massive grassy field.

"Oh boy..." Peaches muttered.

_"Great. Manny, Ellie, Diego, Shira, Louis and Lauren are probably getting worried sick about us. That's if they're up, that is..." _I thought.

Suddenly, I snapped out of my trance as we heard four voices shouting almost in shock.

"Yo, that was intense!"

"Hell yeah! That man in the suit just kept on teleporting right in our way!"

"Does anyone know why he was coming after us?"

"I don't know, but I sure want to find out!"

Peaches had a look of huge delight on her face. I looked at her confused for a second, but then I realised something.

Having seen all of the Ice Age movies, I knew why my friend was beaming with delight.

Four figures had now appeared over the hills, in the distance. I couldn't see them very well but I could tell that they were four teenage mammoths.

"Is that your boyfriend, Ethan?" I asked.

She looked at me and nodded excitedly. She then looked back towards her boyfriend and yelled out at the top of her lungs.

"ETHAN!"

The teenage mammoths looked at her for a moment, but then they started running towards us.

"PEACH!" Ethan yelled back.

I slipped my pistol into my right jean pocket and followed Peaches as she ran towards the teenagers.

I noticed that the three other mammoths were Steffie, Katie and Meghan and they too were pleased to see my friend.

"HEY GIRL!" Steffie shouted with delight.

After hours of running towards each other, Peaches and Ethan ended up in a warm, loving and happy embrace. I watched on, smiling as I thought about my own friend.

_"Hopefully, I'll see him again soon... I miss him..."_

My thoughts were soon interrupted when I saw Steffie, Katie and Meghan looking at me.

"Girl, who's this...pink sloth?" Meghan asked.

Peaches looked at me and then realised what was happening. "Oh sorry guys, almost forgot. This is my friend, Megan. And no she's not a pink sloth, she's a human.."

"Oh right, okay..." Steffie said.

Ethan walked towards me and held out his trunk. "Hey, name's Ethan."

I shook his trunk, smiling. "Hey Ethan, nice to meet you. Heard a lot about you."

"Really?" He asked. I nodded with a small smile. He then looked at Peaches who blushed a bright red. "I see you're a good friend of my lovely girlfriend here.."

"Yeah..." I replied, with a giggle.

Just then, Steffie and the two girls stepped up. We said our friendly greetings and shook hands or trunks, I can't decide what to pick..

"So, Megan. Do you know about this guy in a suit?" Ethan asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Me and Peaches are being stalked by him."

"How long?" Katie asked.

"For a while.." Peaches answered. "I take it you all are being stalked by him too.."

The four mammoths nodded and both mine and Peaches' jaws dropped.

We soon snapped out of our trances as we all heard a familiar voice echo across the field.

"Megan?!"

_"Diego..." _I thought. I gave Peaches a look and she nodded instantly.

I turned to face Ethan and the others. "We gotta go. You guys want to come with us?"

"Any reason why?" Meghan wanted to know.

"Long story, but we'll explain along the way." I answered. "So...what's it gonna be?"

My new friends looked at each other for a brief second before Ethan turned to face me.

"Yep. We're coming with you.."

"Cool.." Both me and Peaches said, as we all started to run towards wherever Diego and the others may be.

* * *

_Hey Guys,_

_Sorry that this was a bit rushed, was really busy with school once again.. _

_Good news, SOPA 2014 has been stopped! Yes! :-)_

_So, we all will be able to continue doing what we love!_

_As always, feel free to leave a review and tell what you think.._

_And I hope y'all are doing good and enjoying this! :)_

_Megan Xx_


	18. Chapter 17: Slender Sickness

**Chapter 17: Slender Sickness**

Megan(Me)'s POV

The six of us ran as fast as we could..

Across the field and through a much larger forest than before..

I guessed that maybe the Herd found each other somewhere and Diego was sent to look for me and Peaches..

Because obivously, he is the tracker of the awesome gang..

"Oh no... Dad's gonna kill us!" My friend shouted in panic.

I turned to see that Ethan, Steffie, Katie and Meghan looked just as panicked as she was.

"No, he won't. We'll make it in time guys.." I said, stopping to catch my breath. The others did the same thing as I did, standing together in a small crowd.

Even though I said that we were gonna make it in time, I had a very horrible feeling that if we didn't, we would all be in big trouble.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and shook off my thoughts about what would happen if we didn't get to my idols soon.

"So, now what?" Steffie demanded.

"I don't know.." Peaches said, before turning to face me. "Megan, you got any ideas?"

I racked my brains for a plan, but I couldn't think of anything. "Nope. Sorry guys.."

"Well, that's just great." I heard Katie mutter.

Eventually managing to catch my breath, I caught sight of two familiar objects lying on the ground nearby.

A flashlight and a camera.

"Finally!" I shouted, punching the air with my fists in delight. Peaches saw what was happening and grinned.

"I told you they wouldn't be that far away.." She said.

I grinned back at her as I picked up the flashlight and camera. I didn't need the flashlight on yet as it wasn't dark, so I put it inside the jean pocket which also had my loaded pistol.

"And right you were.." I replied.

Just then, a very familiar voice I heard only a few hours ago, echoed throughout the trees.

"Megan?! Peaches?! Where are you both?!"

I looked at my friend. She knew exactly what I was thinking and I nodded.

But, we soon jumped out of our skin/fur when we heard another familiar voice echo all around us.

"They could be anywhere Diego, stay cool.."

I looked at Peaches and she realised who it was. _Shira.._

"I'm trying to, it's just..." There was a brief pause and we both listened carefully to what he was about to say next.

"Yes?" Shira asked, with concern.

I looked at Peaches again as if to say: "Is it just me or am I thinking Diego and Shira are developing a bit of a soft spot for me?"

My friend looked back as if to reply: "They probably do like you, they just don't realise it yet.."

Just then, we heard him sigh. "Never mind. Let's keep moving.."

"You've taken a shine to Megan, haven't you?"

"Let's talk about this later, right now we got some teenagers we need to find..."

Shira sighed. "Alright..."

Eventually, we heard two sets of footsteps which told us that they were getting closer.

"Uh, I think we should move.." I said to the other teenagers.

"Actually, we should wait here." Ethan said.

"If we start moving, then we'll get to Diego and Shira faster.. Why should we wait here?" I asked.

"Because if we wait here, then they'll find us more easily. That means we won't have to keep moving all the time and besides, we'll be able to chill out." The male mammoth explained. Steffie, Katie and Meghan all nodded as if to agree with him.

I sighed. "Fine.."

Unfortunately as soon as I said this, light static appeared in my vision and I suddenly began to feel very dizzy.

_Oh no..._

Both Peaches and I knew what this meant. The symptoms were coming back.

My friend turned to Ethan and the others. "Guys, you might wanna look away.."

"Uh, we don't have to.." Meghan replied, pointing behind my friend. She turned round to see that I was running for the nearby bushes.

"MEGAN!" Peaches shouted, with concern.

I gave her a thumbs up to let her know that I would be right back.

She saw and eventually calmed down. "Okay, don't take long!"

* * *

Shira's POV

"MEGAN!"

Both Diego and I jumped out of our fur when we heard the familiar voice we both knew belonged to Peaches.

"We're getting closer to them. This is a good thing.." I said.

But, my boyfriend wasn't listening. "Diego?"

The male smilodon was staring at some nearby bushes. I was getting more confused by the second. "Diego, we really should be going—"

"Sshh listen!" He said. I did what he told and after a while, I realised why Diego was focusing so much on the bushes.

For behind them, was the sound of someone vomiting.

"We should help her.." I said, not sure who the person was.

"Yeah.." My boyfriend agreed. "Is it just me or does she sound like someone we know?"

I listened more carefully and eventually realised who it was.

_Megan..._

"Softe. She is someone we know.." I said, with concern and relief.

The two of us ran towards the bushes and after a few seconds, we saw poor Megan vomiting rather violently.

"MEGAN!" I shouted, worriedly.

The girl looked up and gave us a weak smile before dropping her gaze back on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Kiddo, you ok?" Diego asked.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Megan retorted, almost jokingly.

I looked at my boyfriend. "We need to get her out of here.."

"Agreed.."

We both went towards her and helped her up.

"C'mon Megan.. We're gonna get you somewhere safe where you can recover, alright?" I said, almost with a motherly tone.

"Okay..." She said.

The three of us were on our way out from behind the bushes when Peaches came running over.

"Oh good, you guys are here.. Is Megan okay?"

"Yeah, she's good... We're gonna head back to where everyone else is, you okay with that?" Diego asked.

"Yeah.. Ethan and my friends are coming along too, if that's fine with you?" Peaches said.

As soon as she said this, the other teenage mammoths came walking up behind her.

"Sure.. Let's go guys... Manny and the others are waiting.." I said.

Diego and I stayed close to Megan to make sure she was okay whilst Peaches and the teenagers caught up.

"You're gonna be fine... You're gonna be fine..." I reassured the girl as she struggled to recover from the symptoms which made her ill.

She weakly smiled at me but, I could tell that she was slowly beginning to pass out from dizziness and exhaustion.

"Oh no..." I whispered.


End file.
